Joseph Hewitt (1812 - 1903)

Born 1812 in Lurgan, County Armagh, Ireland

Husband of Ann M (Mclean) Hewitt — married 17 Jul 1839 in Parramatta, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 18 Jan 1903 at about age 91 in Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia

Biography

Joseph married Ann Mclean in 1839^[1]He passed away in 1903 at Newtown, Dubbo^[2] Joseph was the son of William Hewitt who died in 1865, Armagh, Ireland

1903 'An Old Colonist.', The Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate (NSW : 1894 - 1954), 24 January, p. 2. , viewed 04 Feb 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75965188 An Old Colonist.. IN ourlast issue we gave an account of the death and burial of Mr. Joseph Hewitt, of Newtown. We have since been supplied with a few incidents of the late gentleman's life. He was a native of the North of Ireland, having been born at Segoe, near Lurgan, in the county of Armagh, in the year 1812. In 1831, being then 19, he enlisted in his Majesty's 28th foot regiment at Newry, county Down, in which regimenthe served for a period of 19 years and 254 days. In 1832 he was removed to Dublin, in 1833 to Cork, in 1834 to Liverpool, and in 1835 to Chatham. Is 1886 he arrived, with his regiment, in Sydney. From Sydney his regiment was ordered out to the Crimea, and Mr. Hewitt went through that campaign, afterwards returning to Sydney, when he was transferred to the mounted constabulary, and had many experiences in the bush with the notable bushrangers of that period. At one time he was recommended by a judge of the Supreme Court for a reward of £100 for his services in connection with the arrest, of certain bushrangers. Mr. Hewitt bore till his death the marks of a charge which was fired at him point blank while defending the Sydney mail from an attack by a notorious bushranger, John Smith, who was afterwards executed in Sydney. After serving fifteen years in the mounted constabulary Mr. Hewitt was discharged, in consequence of the reduction of the corps, and was granted a pension. He then took up land and commenced farming in the Ophir district. and later removed to the district of Dubbo, where he took out a selection at Benalong, now in the occupation of Mr. John Tink. Mr. Hewitt, who had many of the persevering characteristics of the early pioneers, had quite a fund of stories to tell of his reminiscences of the early bushranging days when the mounted police force had not only to form police stations throughout the colony, but had to fell trees, cut them into lengths, hew the slabs, and erect dwellings. He served under the late Inspector Abraham Kershaw, who died at Manly in 1896. By the death of Mr. Hewitt another of the connecting links between the old colonists and the new passes away.

Sources

1. ↑ NSW Marriage Registration 41/1839
2. ↑ NSW Death Registration 1444/1903

http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/Pages/family-history/family-history.aspx

• WikiTree profile Hewitt-384 created through the import of Mcalary Family Tree.ged on Oct 20, 2011 by Anna McAlary.